Livestock producers should have a wildfire emergency evacuation plan ready to go

May 17, 2023

With the wildfire situation in Alberta and Saskatchewan, people are once again recognizing the harsh reality of just how dangerous they are.

For livestock producers there's not just the concern of getting your family and pets to safety, but also your livestock.

Grant McLellan, CEO of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association says livestock producers should look at developing an evacuation kit that includes your insurance information and more:

"Having contact information for any prearranged off-farm evacuation sites. That may be depending on your area an auction mart, maybe a feedlot, it's important to have that contact information. Ensure that you've got things like water and feed readily available at prearranged sites. A detailed inventory of your livestock and a developing list of any emergency contacts you may want to have in place prior to a wildfire event."

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.